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A Pioneering Woman

Here at SALAKO we are all about championing inspiring women. Our clients include professional women from areas such as the arts, law, science, the charity sector and business. But this woman in particular caught our eye via Atlas Obscura and we decided to feature her on SALAKO Journal as a fitting inspiration for the coming year.

Her name was Martha Matilda Harper who hailed from Canada (like our very own Vanessa Trudell). Born in 1857, she had humble beginnings but fortuitously became employed by a German doctor, who bequeathed her his hair lotion formula upon his death.

Continuing work as a domestic servant, she tended to her employer's hair and came up with the idea of public hair salons for women. With her own savings, she opened her first shop in 1888, later introducing self-designed reclining hair chairs and purpose built wash basins, which are now commonly seen in hairdressers throughout the globe.

Another of her innovations was the concept of franchising, setting up a network to empower poor women and opening 100 Harper's salons across the USA which expanded to 500 across the world by the time the company closed in the 1970s.

Her energy, ideas and dedication are an inspiration to us at SALAKO and we look forward to sharing our own creations and developments with you in 2017.